The Pope sounds off on economics and the environment.

• Author: Marsh, Gerald E.
• Position: Pope Francis I - Religion

POPE FRANCIS' encyclical Laudato Si' generally has been characterized as being an environmental call to arms, but it is far more than simply a defense of the environment. It maintains that the "basic problem" underlying environmental degradation is "the way that humanity has taken up technology and its development according to an undifferentiated and one-dimensional paradigm," or what he calls "the technocratic paradigm." It is a strong and heartfelt critique of the existing socioeconomic system.

Quoting his 2013 apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium, Pope Francis states that "economic powers continue to justify the current global system where priority tends to be given to speculation and the pursuit of financial gain, which fail to take the context into account, let alone the effects on human dignity and the natural environment. Here we see how environmental deterioration and human and ethical degradation are closely linked. Many people will deny doing anything wrong because distractions constantly dull our consciousness of just how limited and finite our world really is. As a result, whatever is fragile, like the environment, is defenseless before the interests of a deified market, which becomes the only rule."

There perhaps are some surprises in this encyclical with regard to biological evolution and genetic engineering: the encyclical contrasts the speed with which human activity has progressed with "the naturally slow pace of biological evolution." In the context of the new biological technologies, Pope Francis tells us: "Here I would recall the balanced position of Saint John Paul n, who stressed the benefits of scientific and technological progress as evidence of 'the nobility of the human vocation to participate responsibly in God's creative action,' while also noting that 'we cannot interfere in one area of the ecosystem without paying due attention to the consequences of such interference in other areas.' "

Pope Francis makes it clear that the Church values the benefits which result "from the study and applications of molecular biology, supplemented by other disciplines such as genetics, and its technological application in agriculture and industry." However, he also points out that this should not lead to "indiscriminate genetic manipulation," which ignores the negative effects of such interventions. "Human creativity cannot be suppressed. If an artist cannot be stopped from using his or her creativity, neither should those who possess particular gifts for the advancement of science and technology be prevented from using their God-given talents for the service of others. We need constantly to rethink the goals, effects, overall context, and ethical limits of this human activity, which is a form of power involving considerable risks."

This power is not new and, to give a historical perspective, Pope Francis clearly states that genetic manipulation has been used for thousands of years: "Genetic mutations, in fact, have often been, and continue to be, caused by nature itself--nor are mutations caused by human intervention a modem phenomenon. The domestication of animals, the crossbreeding of species, and other older and universally accepted practices can be mentioned as examples."

Given that these new biological technologies include the ability to do genome editing, these indeed are very enlightened views. However, the caution expressed by Pope Francis already is a matter of concern in the scientific community.

Researcher David Baltimore, for instance, states in Science'. "Genome engineering technology offers...